


Before The End

by JuniperRose3



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Anger, Control Issues, Curses, Mind Control, Nigel being psychotic, inspired by the amazing writing of Vaguenotion, thoughts of murder, villain Nigel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29008272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuniperRose3/pseuds/JuniperRose3
Summary: Nigel, angered by the changes taking place in his Kingdom, decides to take matters into his own hands and rid the land of rats once and for all; beginning with a certain alchemist.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Before The End

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vaguenotion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaguenotion/gifts).



> Hi! so I've never written a fanfic before in my life, but I've been inspired by the amazing writings of Vaguenotion. The entire "Blood Makes The Knife Holy" series has brought me so much happiness throughout and otherwise awful year and I just wanted to thank Vaguenotion for that.  
> This oneshot is basically how I imagined the red eye curse to have been created. I tried to mirror the chapter spellbound and show how Nigel created the curse through his own self-righteous anger.  
> Also I implore anyone who chances by this to ignore all my spelling and grammar mistakes, as I am quite literally one brain cell away from being illiterate. Many thanks! :)

Order and control are the pivots by which society relies on to operate smoothly and in working order. They provide structure that human nature inherently craves while forming a lean-to in a world of uncertainty.

Nigel clearly understood this fundamental truth, that without order and control the ruin of society was imminent and if at any point these two pillars were broken the demise of a kingdom was absolute. 

It was for this very reason that Nigel was going to take matters into his own hands and ensure that the kingdom of Corona was restored to greatness under his careful guidance. He alone would provide Corona with the order it so desperately needed, as it was quite clear the royal family was unfit to do so. 

Nigel felt no remorse for his actions against the crown. Everything he had done thus far was for the betterment of the kingdom of Corona as a whole. As far as Nigel was concerned the royal family had failed at upholding any semblance of order and it now rested upon him, and him alone, to ensure the longevity of this nation.

Nigel was able to pinpoint the exact moment when Corona began to wither and decay. The day the lost princess was returned. This foolish naïve child made a mockery of the sovereignty from the very moment she stepped back into the kingdom. Bringing in her wake destruction and chaos.  
Her chosen band of allies and friends were no more then thieves and criminals, who had each in their turn attempted to bring about the end of Corona and nearly succeeding on multiple accounts. Seemingly overnight the advisor saw laid to waste the years of effort on his behalf spent bringing Corona to its height of power. The King and Queen, who in begone times entrusted in him the care of the kingdom when they lay riddled with heartbreak over the loss of their daughter, now presently refused to deny their returned brat any whim, even at the cost of the kingdom.

It was infuriating to witness the undoing of the kingdom he, and his father, and his father before him had so dutifully served throughout the decades, but if it was the last thing Nigel would do, He would see this kingdoms’ return to greatness. 

The pieces were set. Order will be returned, and Corona will continue on to become the most powerful kingdom known to man because of His influence. 

. . . 

Nigel looked down at his work, surveying the scene before him. Sketched with white chalk on the floor of his private quarters was a crude circle, the center of which the form of a compass took shape. Around the circumference of the circle varying symbols and runes were meticulously sketched. 

Nigel glanced between the image on the floor and the scroll of parchment in his hand to insure everything was correctly aligned and in order, as it was shown on the illustration.  
Satisfied with his handiwork thus far, He began to put the rest of the pieces together. At each point of the compass the diagram indicated for a candle to be placed, which Nigel set about gathering from around the room. The light cast from the candles formed an eerie atmosphere as though promising unforetold gloom. 

With no lack of precision Nigel began pouring wax from one of the lit candles where the parchment had indicated, forming small puddles of wax that promptly cooled into hard white spheres. Looking again to the parchment Nigel read aloud in a hushed whisper the final ingredients.

“Golden Fog,” he began, as he placed a lit candle in an intricately forged golden candle holder over the required rune. “Silver thread,” he continued while steadily placing a tome borrowed from the royal library, covered in dust and cobwebs over the next rune. “A personal sacrifice,” he spoke haughtily while holding up his prized heirloom pocket watch. Glinting in the candlelight and swinging slightly from a golden chain used to attach the intricate device to his inner pocket for ease of access. The watch was reverently placed in the circle with the other items. “And lastly a vile of dread.” In a small silver goblet Nigel emptied the contents of a common bottle of bitters often used to cure stomach ailments, although it was often argued that the bitters themselves would cause more upset than relief. Turning his nose from the fragrant aromas emitting from the chalice, he placed the final piece in its desired place on the floor. 

Fanning his nose to rid the scent of the putrid liquid, Nigel refocused himself to the parchment and read the final instructions for the spell to be cast properly. Settling himself down onto a cushion in the middle of the circle, he pulled out a square of fabric from his inner chest pocket. Unfolding the red handkerchief in his hand revealed a dried white flower. The flower in question was an edelweiss acquired from Neserdina. 

. . . 

Months prior to this affair Nigel found himself amidst the most noble lords and ladies of the seven kingdoms at the annual peace summate. An affair which the royal advisor typically took great pleasure in attending. This year however was an entirely different matter. Mingling alongside the finest royals were rats. Rats who had infiltrated the ranks of his fair kingdom dressed in fine costumes so none would suspect their true breed. 

Nigel inwardly seethed as his eye caught sight of one such rat conversing with the King of Equis. The rat in question was a mere child by the name of Varian. This peasant boy, a child of a farmer, was appointed to the position of royal engineer, giving him a big head, no doubt, given his humble start. And what made him so great, so deserving of a position within the castle away from the gutters of his birth. Near destruction of the entire kingdom and attempted murder of the entire royal family no less. 

Outwardly Nigel appeared calm and collected, but under the surface he was filled to the brim with rage. This filthy peasant was permitted to mingle with the most noble men and women in the world, when rightly he should have been hung for his actions long ago. Alas justice was rarely ever served since the return of the beloved princess. A fool of a girl who would allow the wretched of society to crawl like insects into her good graces and dine at the Kings table. Her parents the King and Queen of Corona were no better since her return. They have turned away from the careful guidance of their most trusted advisor in favor of pleasing the desires of their weak-minded daughter. Overnight since her return Nigel had seen an infestation of undeserving rats rise to the ranks of nobility, and this boy was no different. 

Sipping from his flute of Champaign, Nigel began making his way across the elaborate ballroom towards the pair with every intention of turning the King of Equis attention to more favorable affairs, such as the elaborate art covering the walls or the various priceless artifacts on display throughout the castle. Much to His disdain Nigel saw another reach the King and Engineer first. Another rat. The new Captain of the Guards and former thief, Eugene Fitzherbert, husband to the princess. 

Painstakingly moving through the crowd towards the trio the advisor saw the two imposters slink away from King Trevor, back to the filthy nests they made in the walls of the castle no doubt. 

Only later did Nigel learn of King Trevor’s keen interest in the child for use of the boys destructive creations known as automatons, which the boy had used in his previous assault of the kingdom. It was clear that the king of Equis had intent to use these foul machines to overthrow the kingdom and expand Equis territory. 

This hardly concerned the advisor, as King Trevor was a pompous and vain man who posed no actual threat to the kingdom of Corona so long as everything worked according to plan. Nigel did however have the foolish king to thank for providing the edelweiss flower and the scroll containing the spell he required to regain control over the Kingdom and rid it of rats once and for all. 

Shortly after the peace summit concluded Nigel had struck a bargain with the King of Equis: If the King provided him the means of crafting a curse to be delivered to the castle, He in turn would deliver the boy personally to Trevor. 

King Trevor, astounded with his good fortune at finding someone who served so close to the royal family willing to turn against the kingdom of Corona, quickly agreed without any further questioning. Never suspecting his newfound ally to be playing him under the table. 

“The fool,” Nigel thought to himself as he stared down the length of his nose at the gifted flower lying in his hand.

The Separatists of Saporia were not so easily convinced, however. Working in cahoots with the King of Equis, this rough band of miscreants were longtime self-proclaimed enemies of Corona and on their own could do no real damage. 

After meeting with the leader of the disheveled lot of Saporians, Andrew, it was clear that he and the advisor shared a similarity. A deep seeded hatred of the royal engineer, Varian. Although their hatred stemmed from different sources, Nigel hating the boy for almost destroying the kingdom on multiple accounts while Andrew hated his former cellmate for not following through in aiding the Saporians in destroying the very same kingdom, they could both agree that justice was long overdue and the boy's days were numbered. 

Andrew, like Nigel, had no true intention of aiding Trevor in his pompous charade, but was simply feigning allegiance to the King in order to close in on his prey. Nigel could almost admire the Saporian leader for his distaste of the boy. Almost. Nigel was determined to bring order and control back to his kingdom. Andrew, however, despised Corona and any semblance of order and therefore, when the time came, Nigel would have him dealt with.

. . .

Nigel set about his task as soon as the required materials arrived. He decided long ago that the first thing to be put in order was the child, Varian. This traitor would be brought to justice once and for all. 

Turning the dried flower over in his hand, the Advisor picked up the specimen by its stem with bony fingers and delicately placed the flower on his tongue. With this flower he would become immune to the curse he was about to create and would be able to remain in control of all effected. As the flower dissolved in his mouth, Nigel closed his eyes and began to focus his mind on the task at hand. 

To cast the spell Nigel began recalling his earliest memories of the wretched child Varian. The day that he came bursting into the castle demanding assistance as his father was being encased in a concoction created by his own destructive hands. This meager farmer boy called himself an alchemist and fooled others into thinking his inventions and potions were for the betterment of society, when the reality of his experiments brought only devastation, even upon his own house and kin. Why no one else could see Varian’s innate destructive nature was beyond him. 

That day when that child demanded Rapunzel to return with him back to old Corona in order to save his father, Rapunzel had shown some promise. Rather than bending to the whim of this destructive creature the princess had listen to Nigel’s plea to send the boy away and focus on more pressing matters regarding the kingdom.  
While Rapunzel was foolish and naïve and had certainly challenged the order of Corona, Nigel believe she could be reined in with time under his careful hand. Like the Kings and Queens before she would fall into place and perform her duties as figurehead with the true leadership falling to him as her advisor.

Varian however was discord itself in living flesh. He had no semblance of obedience and catered only to his ever-swaying emotions and desires without a care for the greater good. Nigel had no control over this chaotic demon and the more he mulled it over the more Nigel always ended at the same conclusion; for Corona to thrive the boy must be destroyed.

Nigel began sifting deeper into his opinions of the child. Recalling his earliest attacks on the kingdom and the rage he had felt when learning that the fourteen-year-old boy, who broke into the royal vaults, took the Queen hostage, and nearly destroy the Kingdom, Twice! was not only granted pardon by the royal family, but was bestowed a title and a place at the royal palace after everything he had done. 

This boy was flawed beyond repair, Nigel thought with disdain, and had made far too many mistakes to be forgiven. He had nearly been the demise of this fair kingdom more times than the advisor cared to count. Prison had done nothing to reform him. In fact, prison had simply provided him with more ammunition as he joined forces with the Saporians to try his hand yet again at leveling Corona to the ground.

There was no good to be found in this wretched boy and if Nigel had to be the one to send him back to the deepest pit from where he crawled out of, for the sake of regaining control and order, then so be it.

The thought was a distasteful one. Nigel preferred not to soil his hands by dispatching the boy himself. Therefor the much-preferred option would be to have the king do so for him. "Poetic justice," Nigel thought. The corners of his mouth turning to a sly grin. "What better then to have his noble highness end the life of the child who abducted his beloved wife and threatened his precious family." 

Nigel focused his thoughts with new vigor and let forth his deepest feelings of disgust and loathing for the child. The advisor put every conscious effort into honing in on the rage and contempt he felt when thinking of the boy and what he had almost done to the kingdom. Anger surged through the advisor so strong and potent Nigel believed he might be overwhelmed and succumb to his own emotions.

Nigel opened his eyes. They were glowing with a dark crimson red. 

The candles surrounding him gave off the same powerful glow casting the room in a red hue, as if hell itself was tearing into the very room where Nigel sat. the room convulsed with magic like mighty waves in a gale. The vibrations resonated in Nigel’s chest. With trembling hands and barely seeing eyes Nigel reached into his inner pocket and fished out the desired object that shook and tremored as if alive. It was a small glass vile with a twisted neck and a heart shaped body. 

Many years ago this object had caused devastation to the kingdom at the hands of the alchemist, but today it would be redeemed and serve to save the very same kingdom. In his hands Nigel held the tool that would be used to restore justice and bring control and order back to his life and his kingdom. 

The spell was near completion. Swirls of red smoke surrounded Nigel where he sat, demanding the final sacrifice in order to adhere to the selected foci. Nigel obliged, pulling forth a slim dagger with a wicked curve that he kept concealed behind his back at all times. Nigel pressed the tip of the blade to his thumb and drew a single drop of blood. "A small sacrifice to pay for the salvation of the kingdom," he thought. Upon touching his thumb to the body of the vial and completing the curse, Nigel was thrown back by a brilliant flash of red. 

His eyes flew wide lit with an even more powerful crimson light. His pupils all but vanishing. The energy pulsating in the room like a deep echoing heartbeat. Rapid at first then gradually slowing to a more measured pace. Then it was quiet. 

Nigel took a moment to take stalk of himself. Gradually sitting up and readjusting himself after the upsetting affair. While smoothing back his hair with both hands he became aware of the vile he was still holding. It was filled with red smoke, swirling around radically as if it had a life of its own, desperate to escape and infect those with its curse. 

Holding the vial aloft, Nigel grinned with sadistic glee. Finally! He would have justice. Order would be returned, and control would be his at last.  
Nigel let loose a breathy chuckle. Cruel and spiked with venom.

“I’ll see to it that justice is restored!”


End file.
